Thankful Thursday...

today i'm thankful for this beauty

i found this for FREE on Craigslist about 3 years ago.

it's an antique Kimball upright, complete with an original signature on the inside from 1925.

when we first got it home, it was in need of a little tender lovin' care, so i decided a paint job was in order to cover up the scrapes and bruises.

i was in love with it from the start, but the green made me fall that much harder.

i really only know the basics... 'heart & soul', chopsticks', 'edelweiss', 

and let's not forget the first one my grandmother ever taught me...

'birthday party'

it goes a little something like this>>

here we go

                                                                            c     d    e

up a row

                                                                            c   d   e

to a birthday party

                                                                  d  c     d    e     c   c

i'm looking forward to taking lessons {hopefully} soon, but in the meantime my 

little guy does a beautiful job of making his own music on it.

almost any time he passes, he can't resist but tickle those ivories... the cutest!

a huge part of the reason we wanted a piano was to give our kids a musical/artistic outlet as they got older.

i grew up in a house with music ringing through the halls on a very regular basis.

we all took piano lessons for years and somewhere along the line i dropped it and never picked it back up {that's about to change}.

my brother, Grant, on the other hand could sit down at a piano by the age of 4 and sound songs out within a matter of minutes... this has blossomed into such an insane musical gift and i hope for the same in any one of our children.

our love and appreciation for music runs deep in this house and i can definitely see this piano gettin' a heck of a lot of lovin' over the years!

brother love...

the first few weeks that Bellamy was home, the brother love comin' from Asa's direction was questionable at best.  there might have even been a little slapping action on the bad days.

i can imagine it has to be tough sharing momma's attention when you're use to getting it all.  over the course of a few weeks, he turned from his jealous ways and more or less began ignoring her. 

this was fine with me, because i knew he'd grow out of it and it made things like

nursing, diaper changing, and bathing so much easier
 {considering he wasn't climbing on top of her to get to me}.

it's only been 3 months and i'm pretty sure he's forgotten what life is like without Bellamy and resolved to loving on his new little sis.

most days {with very few exceptions} he's...

>>gently pointing out all the parts of her face, "no" (nose), "ma"(mouth), "eye", "ee-uh"(ear), and glancing at me for approval after each one.  

>>giving her smooches.

>>looking worried and saying "oh no" when she's crying.

>>climbing onto the couch, situating himself into a lounging position and saying "pease" for me to let him hold her.
this and so much more.

i just can't wait 'til she can feel the love and give it back...

such a beautiful thing to see unfold.

i LOVE mothering these two precious littles!

photographic proof of the brotherly lovin'...

::heart melts::

a word from James...

we might have just gotten home from livin' the good life on vaca, but over the past couple days we've been dealt a bit of a rough hand...

nothing too serious, just some trials to work through.

yesterday {on our way home in the car}, Justin and i were talking about things and i recalled something i'd heard in the wedding vows between our dear friends the night before...

"marriage is about splitting the load, sharing the burden, supporting eachother in love and prayer."

now, i already knew this, but i needed that reminder. 

there might be some days when Justin works late and i'm responsible for the kids from sun up to sun down and by the end of it i may or may not have pulled a large chunk of my hair out ... but on that same day, Justin's working his {fine lookin' } tush off to provide for our family.  

so, {while it might not feel like it} we're still supporting eachother. 

that's the day to day. 

but there's always going to be that blow that you're not quite ready for.

the one that hits right at the top of your game.

and yesterday, as Justin seemed to be despairing and that pastor's words were ringing in my ear, i reached for his hand, told him 'we got this', and we sent a word of prayer up to our amazing Heavenly Father.

when i'm having trouble finding my confidence in the Lord, Justin's always there to turn my focus right back where it needs to be.  he's always so strong... it feels good to do the same for him from time to time.

we're taking it one day at a time and

thanking James for reminding us what it really means to trust in our God...

"Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow."

fishes & fun...

Ripley's Aquarium..... so good!

yesterday afternoon brought some rain, so we headed to Broadway at the Beach with the kiddos.

between the giant fishtanks with larger than life stingrays and every kind of fish you can imagine, "swimming" with the sharks through the aquarium tunnel, and getting to touch the horseshoe crabs, 

i think we had just about as much fun as they did... maybe more.

it's crazy to think that we saw the tiniest fraction of the ocean's creatures...

it made me feel so small, but in a good way.

we serve a BIG God!

we're off to lunch and will {hopefully} be catchin' some afternoon rays!

Happy Fall!

Thankful Thursday...

today, i'm thankful for this girl

this is Kristy.

we met just over a year ago through a mutual friend  and it's been 

PB & J ever since!

her son, Colt, and my Asa are little buddies too!

her friendship has been such a gift to me over the past months...

we've laughed, we've cried, we've prayed, and we've shared our hearts.

i'm thanking God for the blessing that she is.

she's a keeper... here's to forever friends.

Sunny Monday...

this is what today looked like...

going into vacation, i can't wait for all the extra time i get to spend with my precious family, but i'm always just a bit anxious... wondering whether it's actually going to be relaxing or not. {this is since we've added kids to the mix}  i've realized, that's actually all on me.

will i LET myself relax?

today, yes.  

every day has it's share of frustrations. even on vaca. especially on vaca.

between packing for 4, driving for hours with fussy babes, unpacking, and settling in... 

it takes me a little while to unwind.

but when the hubs and i are tag-teamin' it, we make quite the duo!

i'm pretty sure i'd be lost without him.

and today was a success!  relaxation station, folks!

{sure, there were a couple wrenches thrown in, but i kept my cool. yes i did.}

this week'll be good.

oh, and this is my friend from college, Leslie and her adorable baby girl, Annabelle...

she lives here in Myrtle Beach and got to hang with us for a bit today!

so fun!

perusing's better than packing...

i SHOULD be tending to this bad boy...

but i'm having WAY too much fun drooling over THIS completely un-affordable children's website... ughhh, SO cute!

some of my favorites 

for him >>

for her >>

mmm.  Smallable, i love you.

these days in a nutshell...

i really have been trying to stay consistent with posting, but the days just keep sneaking by and before i know it, IT'S BEEN A WHOLE WEEK!  

anyway... i figured a little cram session here and there doesn't hurt, so here's what we've been up to the past week {or two}...

Labor Day Weekend

celebrating my 27th birthday x2!

my little sis cooked a fantastically delicious meal for the fam at her place on one night {Friday},

and the next evening {Saturday} we cooked out at our place with close friends.

the Mr. kept the babes for a few hours on Sunday while my mom and i did a little birthday shoppin'.

on Labor Day we layed pretty low and had dinner at my parent's house with some of their neighbors.

over the next few days i was lovin' on my babies, doin' some laundry, runnin' some errands, hangin' with friends and everything in between.

Justin took a half day that Friday and we headed down to Greenville, SC.

both sets of my grandparents are down there {one of which hadn't met Bellamy yet}, and a few very close friends.

we stayed with one of my mom's best friends and packed A LOT into 2 days, but it was perfect!  we saw everyone and did everything we wanted to and made it home by the kid's bedtime on Sunday night.

we had a playdate all day Monday and had dinner together when the husbands got off work.

Tuesday, my wonderful momma came to keep the kids so i could run a couple errands and get some cleaning done... she even did a little cleaning herself.  i love her.

Asa had his 18month check-up Wednesday morning and he's perfect!

that evening we brought dinner to some dear friends of ours who just welcomed a beautiful new baby girl into the world, Ivy Jane.  gosh, was she sweet!

the proud new momma!

today, we had a visit from a lovely lady i used to nanny for... and she came bearing gifts... 

Dean and Deluca for lunch and an ADORABLE Missoni knit onesie for Bellamy.  

her son, Larson, was 3 when i watched him and is now 8!

she also has beautiful twin girls that are teenagers now and i can hardly believe it!
OH, and my little brother, Grant, joined us for dinner... this blessed me.

tomorrow we'll be packing, packing, and more packing.

we leave for a week at the beach on Sunday, but Saturday is BOOKED so no packing then.

ok so, i'm off to write some lists!

night!